Lamb Curry Dinner

Today we had lamb curry and rice. I also made some spinach and chickpeas for myself. I was a little generous when I added chilli to the veg so ended up stirring in some natural yoghurt to reduce the heat.

Lamb madras:



Spinach and chickpeas:

Stir-Fried Beef with Ginger and Celery

Slice rump steak in bite-sized pieces, marinade with rice wine, soya sauce and a little flour while preparing the veg. Slice celery diagonally, mince some ginger and garlic. Heat some oil in a pan, add the celery and cook for a few minutes but make sure it's undercooked, tip the celery onto a plate. Heat some more oil, add the ginger, garlic and beef, let it sear slightly and stir. Once the beef is half cooked, add the celery, stir. Add some oyster sauce, stir, add a little water and continue cooking until the beef is tender. Serve with rice.

Killer Chocolate Truffle Pudding

I was making chocolate truffles but the mix seemed to go weird, grainy and separated. I quickly mixed in some more double cream and left it to set then I served it with cream poured over. It was delicious but very rich!

Five Spice and Ginger Duck

1/2 duck, cut into two portions (I used one leg and one breast)
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/3 cup soya sauce
1/2 tsp five spice powder
Large piece of ginger, sliced

Mix everything together in a dish, cover with cling film and marinade overnight. Preheat oven to 200 degrees centigrade, transfer the duck to a baking tray and bake for 35 minutes, basting as necessary. Take the duck out, turn over and return to the oven, bake for a further 20 minues at 160 degrees centigrade.

Squash, Spinach and Marscapone Bake

1 small butternut squash, cubed
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil plus extra for greasing the baking tray
1/2 pack frozen spinach, thawed
1 tub marscapone cheese
3 eggs
3 tbsp pine nuts
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 180 degrees centigrade, place the squash on a dish and bake for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onions over a low heat until softened. Squeeze the water out of the spinach and place in a bowl, add onions, squash, marscapone, eggs and pine nuts. Mix everything together and season well. Grease a baking tray, pour the mixture in and bake for 30 minutes or until brown on top and set inside.

Ho Ho Ho! Mince Pies for Christmas

800g minced beef
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp tomato paste
Gravy granules, as necessary
Salt and pepper, to taste
680g pack frozen puff pastry, defrosted
Flour, as necessary
A little milk

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and cook for a few minutes, add the garlic and the minced beef. Fry for about 5 minutes until the beef is browned, stirring to avoid the beef forming into lumps. Add the tomato puree and a little water, reduce the heat and cook for about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, mix in some gravy granules and allow the mixture too cool. Roll out the puff pastry with floor to avoid it sticking to the table, divide into four. Put the filling into the centre and crimp the edges of the pastry. Place onto a baking tray with silicone cooking sheet, brush with a little milk and bake for 30 minutes at 200 degrees centigrade or until brown.

Reggae Reggae Chicken Wings and Wedges

Spinach and Feta Bake

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp oil plus extra for greasing dish
1/2 bag frozen leaf spinach, defrosted
200g feta cheese, cubed
3 eggs
3 tbsp pine nuts
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Cook the onions until soft, add the garlic. Squeeze the water out of the spinach and place into a bowl. Tip in the cooked onions, season with salt and pepper. Gently stir in feta cheese, eggs and pine nuts. Grease a dish, pour the mixture in and bake at 180 degrees centigrade for 30 minutes or until brown on top.

Truffles for Christmas, Pt. 2

White with coconut and white sparkles:


Dark with chocolate vermicelli:



Dark with cocoa:



Dark with toasted almonds:



White with white and dark coating and smarties:



White with dark coating and coconut:



White with crushed candy canes:



Afterwards we bagged them up as Christmas presents:

Chocolate Truffles for Christmas

600g chocolate
235ml double cream
25g butter
Coverings: cocoa, toasted flaked almonds, dessicated coconut etc.

Break the 450g of chocolate into squares, put into a food processor until it's in small pieces. Place into a large bowl, cut butter into small pieces and add to the bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan until just beginning to boil, pour over the chocolate and allow to stand for a few minutes until the chocolate is melted. Mix everything together until smooth. Allow to cool, cover and place in the fridge overnight.

Melt the remaining chocolate in batches. Take out of the fridge, shape into small balls. Roll the balls into the melted chocolate and into the coverings. Allow to set.

Chocolate Dipped Candied Orange

I made some more candied orange and half dipped them in dark chocolate to give as Christmas presents.

Before covering in sugar:



After covering in sugar:



Dipped in chocolate:

Simple Chicken Curry

1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp oil
4 tbsp curry paste
4 chicken breasts, diced
20og chopped tomatoes
100ml water
200ml double cream

Heat the oil in a frying pan, cook the onions over a low heat for 10 minutes until softened. Add the curry paste, cook for a 3 minutes. Add the chicken and cook until sealed. Add tomatoes and water, cook for about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes, stir in the cream. Serve with rice.

Blackberries and Greek Yoghurt

2 boxes blackberries
Sugar, to taste
Greek yoghurt
Icing sugar, to taste

Wash the blackberries and place in a pan with sugar and a little water. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the blackberries are soft. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Meanwhile, mix Greek yoghurt with icing sugar, serve with the blackberries.

Spicy Chicken and Cous Cous

6 chicken thigh, skinned
2 tbsp oil
1 jar Moroccan Tomato and Cumin Sauce
1 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 can chickpeas, drained
Cous cous and spinach to serve

Heat the oil in a pan, add chicken thighs and cook for a few minutes, turning once. Add the sauce, chilli flakes and chickpeas. Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Serve with cous cous and spinach.

Salmon Nigiri

I made these for Ian's dinner:



I had sashimi and avocado:

Slow Cooked Five Spice Lamb Chops

1kg lamb chops
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cm piece ginger, shredded
1 tsp five spice powder
2 tbsp shaohsing rice wine
3 tbsp hoi sin sauce
3 tbsp light soya sauce
Water

Preheat oven to 200 degrees centigrade. Spread the onions on a dish and place the lamb chops on top. Bake for 30 minutes until brown. Remove dish from oven. Add the remaining ingredients and enough water to come 2cm up the side of the dish. Cover with foil and bake for 3 hours at 150 degrees centrigrade. Turn over half way through and add more water, if necessary.

Chicken Biryani

I made this for Ian's dinner last night.

Green Tea Jelly with Milky Sauce

5g gelatine
1 tbsp matcha
4 tbsp sugar
50ml hot water
300ml cold water
100ml condensed milk
100ml fresh milk

Dissolve the gelatine in the hot water. In another bowl, mix the matcha and sugar, add a little cold water and stir to form a paste. Add the remaining cold water, stir in the dissolved gelatine and mix well. Pour into jelly moulds and leave to set. Mix together the condensed milk and fresh milk to make the milky sauce. Serve the jelly with the milky sauce.



Warning: do not eat this late at night.

Matcha Bubble Pudding

After sushi we had 'bubbles' for pudding. Bubbles are little balls of tapioca and are usually served in a drink with a fruit, tea, milk or coconut milk base. I served mine as a pudding, a bit like a cold, sweet soup. I had two bases for my guests to choose from: plain milk and matcha (green tea).



The plain base was made of evaporated milk, fresh milk and sugar. To make the matcha flavoured base, mix a teaspoon of matcha with a small amount to water to form a paste and add the plain base to taste.

Matcha bubbles:

Roll-Your-Own-Sushi

I like making (and eating!) sushi but there's quite a lot prep work involved. An easy way to get around this is to prepare the rice, lay out all your fillings and wrappers then allow your guests to roll their own, selecting whatever they fancy.



Clockwise from top left: prawns, pickled mackerel, grilled eel, avocado, rice, salmon, sweet omlette, nori and soya wrappers. We also had miso soup.

Prawns, mackerel and grilled eel:



To roll your own, place a piece of nori on a plate, add rice and other fillings.



Roll your nori into a cone shape and enjoy!

Slow Roast Lamb Shoulder

1/2 lamb shoulder
1 onion, roughly sliced
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp chilli flakes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 200 degrees centigrade. Put onions into a dish and place lamb shoulder on top. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour water into the dish until it's about 2cm high. Cover with foil, return to oven. Reduce oven temperature to 150 degrees centigrade and bake for 3 hours, checking occasionally that the dish has not dried out. Remove the dish from the oven, scoop out some of the liquid, add tomatoes, thyme and chilli flakes. Return to the oven and increase temperature to 200 degrees centigrade. Bake for 30 minutes until the lamb is browned. Remove from the oven, check seasoning, mash the onions into the sauce and serve.



The meat will flake right off the bone with a fork so no need to carve it. I served it with wholewheat couscous.

Candied Ginger for Dad

1kg fresh ginger
3 cups sugar plus extra for dusting
2 cups water

Peel the ginger. Cut into 5mm slices, going diagonally to the grain. Place the water and 3 cups of sugar into a pan, bring to the boil until the sugar is melted. Add the ginger, bring to the boil. Simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. After 2 hours, turn off the heat and allow the ginger to cool. Transfer the ginger to a sieve and allow to drain. Spread the ginger onto a baking sheet and dry for 2 hours. Dredge the slices in sugar and transfer to a container to store.



My dad requested I make candied ginger for him as he likes it very much. These candies are hotter than shop bought ones but they are very nice, nonetheless. I tried a little with dark chocolate and it took the heat off the ginger.

Candied Orange

4 oranges
4 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups water

Put 3 1/2 cups sugar and the water into a large pan, slowly bring to the boil. Cut the oranges in half lengthways and cut into 5mm slices, discarding the ends. Add the orange slices to the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer, uncovered for one hour. Do not stir the orange slices during this time, just carefully push the slices under the water. Turn off the heat and leave to cool. Remove the slices with a slotted spoon and arrange onto a wire rack. Leave to dry for 24 hours. Put the remaining sugar in a bowl, add the oranges slices, in batches, to cover in sugar. Transfer to an airtight container to store.



I decided to try making these because one of my favourite sweets is chocolate covered candied orange peel. The recipe was for chocolate covered candied orange but after tasting the orange slices I decided not to cover them in chocolate as they were plenty delicious plain!

Chunky Chinky Turkey Jerky

2kg turkey breast, thinly sliced
1 cup light soya sauce
2 tbsp shaohsing rice wine
2 tbsp soft brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Mix everything together, marinade for for 5 hours. Arrange the slices of turkey onto a wire baking rack. Preheat oven to 50 degrees centrigrade and dry the turkey slices for 5-8 hours.



I really liked the marinade I used for the ribs the other week so I thought I'd try making jerky with a similar marinade. I chose turkey because it is quite bland and the flavours would take well. I found the jerky is a little too salty for my tastes so in future I will marinade it for a shorter time. The garlic flavour is quite strong so I may halve the garlic for the next batch.

Basic Beef Jerky

750g beef brisket, thinly sliced
1/2 cup light soya sauce
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

Combine all the ingredients and marinade in the fridge overnight. Lay the slices of beef onto wire oven rack. Preheat oven to 50 degrees centigrade and bake the beef for 6-15 hours, depending on thickness, until dry.



I like my jerky slightly pliable and not too salty.

Some Favourite Salads

I was going through some old photos and found some of my favourite salads...

Spinach, red onion, pineapple and dressing, served with chopped chicken on top:



Pink grapefruit, radishes, avocado, basil and olive oil:



Shredded cabbage, grated carrots, raisins, lemon juice and olive oil. I like to add orange segments or apple slices to this salad:



Tomatoes, avocado, cannellini beans, red onion, lemon juice and olive oil:



Spinach leaves, mango pieces, red onion slices and dressing:

Breakfast Omlette

1 tbsp oil
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1 handful spinach
4 eggs
1 splash milk
50g mature cheddar, grated
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat oven to 180 degrees centigrade. Grease a small cake tin with the oil. Add the peppers and spinach. Beat the eggs with milk and seasoning. Pour the eggs over the vegetables. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake for 30 minutes or until set.



A close up:



You can use whatever vegetables you have and add sausage, chicken, bacon etc. This can be stored in the fridge and served cold.

Chocolate Fondue

300g milk chocolate (I used Green and Blacks milk chocolate)
300g double cream
A selection of things to dip

Break the chocolate into pieces, place into a glass bowl. Microwave at 50% for 2 minutes, or until melted, stirring halfway. Add cream and stir until the mixture is smooth. Serve with a selection of fruits, cake, nuts etc. to dip.

The original recipe used 500g of chocolate for 4 people. I used 300g for 4 people and there was some leftover so 300g should serve 5 people.



I served my chocolate fondue with marshmallows, cubes of madeira cake, kiwi fruit, banana slices and strawberries.